Cambridge cyclists warned of police operation by passer by

Woman told bike riders that cyclists were being stopped for ignoring one-way signs

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Police in Cambridge issued ten fixed penalty notices last week in a crackdown against cyclists riding the wrong way up a one-way street last Thursday, but were unaware that further up the street, a woman was warning other bike riders of the operation.

According to the website Cambridge News, police say that they would have arrested the woman for obstruction had they known what she was doing.

The police operation took place on the city’s Sidney Sussex Street, where officers managed to stop more than 20 cyclists for ignoring one-way signs and for riding their bikes in a no-cycling zone. They also checked for stolen bicycles and issued advice on bike security.

Bystander Royston Rose told Cambridge News that he had seen the woman tell as many as ten other cyclists of the police presence.

After giving his backing to the operation, he added: “Not so well done to the young woman who positioned herself further up the street to warn the law-breaking cyclists of the police activity.

“She and many others I am sure will feel she was performing a public service. How are we ever to rid Cambridge of the scourge of irresponsible cyclists whilst they are supported by such idiots as this young woman?”

PC Katie Norman told the website: “Many cyclists ignore the no entry signs in Sidney Street and many feel it is fine for them to continue cycling.

“We wanted to remind cyclists they were breaking the law and issued them with a £30 fine.

“We also took this opportunity to carry out checks for stolen cycles and educate cyclists about immobilize” – the website www.immobilise.com where owners can register their bike’s details – “and give general cycle crime prevention advice.”

PC Norman added: “The immobilise website is a great tool for uniting victims of bike crime with their property. I strongly suggest that cyclists visit the site and register their bikes today.”

Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.

27 comments

I don't know if this is a particularly dangerous street, but you would wonder whether the police don't have anything better to do? How many people have been killed or injured by poor driving in Cambridge? What's the level of street crime? I bet both are more serious but less visible threats to life, limb, and property in the city.

We're going to be asking that question as the annual cycling crackdown season approaches.

You beat me to it Tony. Was going to suggest that maybe we should all move to Cambridge as it seems that there is absolutely no-one in a car breaking the law, therefore we will all be getting at least 3ft space at each overtake.

As someone pointed out on Twitter: drivers warn other drivers of speed traps all the time (by flashing their lights), and you don't hear of those "helpful" drivers being condemned by the Police. Usual UK double standards apply.

It's a busy pedestrianised route. People don't expect bikes coming that direction. So it's good that plod stop the students cutting down from Huntingdon Road.

At the same time they should have Plod on Newmarket Road stopping the drivers in the bike lanes.

So if you're harping on, get over it. Next time you get squeezed by a car, it's because car drivers think all cyclists are law-breaking idiots who cycle the wrong way down one way streets and get what's coming to them. No, it's not fair, but "life isn't fair. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something"

I don't know if this is a particularly dangerous street, but you would wonder whether the police don't have anything better to do? How many people have been killed or injured by poor driving in Cambridge? What's the level of street crime? I bet both are more serious but less visible threats to life, limb, and property in the city.

We're going to be asking that question as the annual cycling crackdown season approaches.

Speaking as a Cambridge resident, I say that this is not a particularly dangerous street, and there is no reason why it couldn't be two way for bicycles.

The police do this every year at this time. I think it is to "welcome" the new students!

I think that there should be a general regulation that permits cycling contra flows on all one-way streets ... after all it's usually motorised vehicular traffic that create the need for one-way streets not cycles. This would save the police (a lower case p, I think) some work, too.

what's to stop you giving a false address (not that I
would of course !!!) for your fixed penalty ? Seriously
though - how do they check ? I certainly don't have
any form of ID when I'm out on my bike .....

It's a strange world that we live in where a person warning people of police action for a possible minor traffic offence could face prosecution if caught. Given that her warning has possibly made those offending cyclists think twice about offending again in the future, you have to ask whether her action has been of as much benefit as the efforts the police were making. If you ask me, the answer is yes.

I live in a part of London where shootings occur (another one last Saturday, not fatal at least) and where violent muggings occur (one directly outside my house as I ate dinner on Monday evening). I do find it rather curious when police choose to act on such low level offences and pretend more serious crimes don't exist. I'm sure far more serious drug-related offences occur regularly in cambridge for instance.

Agree with Dave - surely reminding people not to break the law is a good thing not an arrestable offence. i heard of a motorist using that as a defence for warning drivers about a speed trap many years ago. I think that nice lady was doing a great job.

This woman clearly has more clout with the threat of a fine than I have trying to stop cyclists (thankfully in a minority) from jumping red lights in London - this morning one muppet was inches from being mown down crossing Bayswater Road near Lancaster Gate. If only I had superpowers reminiscent of the old box junction public information films on the TV !

Riding down one way streets, Jumping lights, pavement riding etc Is fine when your 8 on a BMX trying to recreate the Chase from ET.
Other than that its just ammo for the "you don't pay road tax" Daily Mail brigade, there's just a couple of them in Cambridge, tune into the open minded & progressive views offered on cycling & cyclists on the Cambridge News forums whenever there's a bike related story.

The other thing about Sidney Street is that it is on a very strong "desire line" for cyclists. Cycling south, contraflow cycling is permitted after the junction with Market Street. To avoid the one way bit of Sidney Street (for cyclists), you more or less have to go out of your way around three sides of a rectangle.

while i don't condone reckless cyclists and i don't know the area or geography of the region, i often.. sometimes in full view of the PSNI[N IRISH police] Hop onto a pavement that avoids a hilly box junction with 3 sets of lights to avoid a dangerous and possibly injurious confrontation with dosy early morning car commuters.. well done that girl.. and i feel like some other posters... have the police nothing more useful to do, maybe the only palatable thing which may come out of these cuts is less jobs worths in police and other uncivil servants.. they might have to do real work for the first time in their lives, if anybody hires them!!!

The police tell us that speeding motorists contribute to 1000 deaths every year on our roads, where as being killed by a cyclist (on a pavement or riding the wrong way down a one way street) is almost unheard of.
Ironically the police would like to prosecute the woman for warning cyclists of the police "cyclist" trap, yet on Cambridgeshire Police Website their is a link to the location of all their Speed Camera sites, which means the police are only doing exactly the same as that woman.
Double standards I think from the police.

Sorry to be pedantic, but it's two sides of a triangle (the hypotenuse and the short side)

Wrong way cycling along here is a real problem though: it's busy and narrow with pedestrians wandering all over it.

Oddly enough, the lawbreaking came about because of the city centre cycling ban (now repealed): given that cycling was banned anyway, breaking another rule hardly mattered. The same applies on Trinity Street (the hypotenuse!).

I'd really like to see the police clamp down on the bullies in taxis who squeeze timid cyclists and/or drive on the pavement to get past.

As someone pointed out on Twitter: drivers warn other drivers of speed traps all the time (by flashing their lights), and you don't hear of those "helpful" drivers being condemned by the Police. Usual UK double standards apply.

A comment on that story has some of the craziest logic I've ever heard:

“It seems to me that the cyclists who also drive cars are the offenders here.
They choose to ignor rules for cycling on pavements and no doubt choose to ignore any rules that do not suit them whilst driving.
The traffic offenders they see are no doubt cyclist who are trying to drive a car for a day.
Meanwhile all the people who stick to four wheels stick to the rules of the road.”

So even when a motorist drives like an arse, that's our fault as well! Mad as a lemonade sandwich...